Relationship between serum neutrophil count and infarct size in patients with acute myocardial infarction

We investigated the relationship between scintigraphic infarct size and neutrophil counts after acute myocardial infarction (AMI), which has not been adequately studied with imaging tools.

Twenty-eight consecutive patients with anterior AMI were included in the study. Total white blood cell (WBC), neutrophil counts, creatine kinase-myocardial band (CKMB), and cardiac troponin (cTnT) were obtained at admission and daily during the first 72 h after a patient's arrival. Single photon emission computed tomography studies were performed at a median interval of 4 days (range, 3-5 days) after the AMI. The severity scores of perfusion defects were calculated. WBC and neutrophil counts correlated with enzymatic and single photon emission computed tomography infarct size.

Leukocyte and neutrophil counts on admission and first day were positively correlated with peak CKMB, peak cTnT, and scintigraphic infarct size. There were no statistical correlations on the second and third days (P>0.05). The most significant relationship was between basal neutrophil counts and scintigraphic infarct size (r = 0.602, P<0.001). Overall, the correlation coefficients with scintigraphy were better than those with peak CKMB and cTnT levels for both WBC and neutrophil counts.

Measuring basal neutrophil counts may be considered as an alternative solution in the prediction of infarct size.